Table of Contents SuperForms User Documentation DocVersion 2.0

SuperForms User Documentation
DocVersion: 2.0 (11/22/2005)
Overview ................................................................................................................................................. 3
Creating a SuperForm............................................................................................................................... 4
Copy Superform ................................................................................................................................... 5
NOTE FOR COMMERCE ENGINE USERS:....................................................................................... 5
Editing Your SuperForm....................................................................................................................... 5
Element Types ......................................................................................................................................... 6
Text Fields ........................................................................................................................................... 6
Labels............................................................................................................................................... 6
Fields ............................................................................................................................................... 6
Text Box Type.................................................................................................................................. 6
Is This Field Required? ..................................................................................................................... 6
Field Type (“Single Line” text boxes only)........................................................................................ 6
Field Width....................................................................................................................................... 7
Rows (“Multi Line” text boxes only)................................................................................................. 7
Default Value ................................................................................................................................... 7
Radio Buttons....................................................................................................................................... 8
Radio Button Label and Settings ....................................................................................................... 8
Add/edit options: Adding.................................................................................................................. 9
Add/edit options: Editing .................................................................................................................. 9
Example: Picnic Site Reservation (Radio Buttons)............................................................................. 9
Checkboxes ........................................................................................................................................ 10
Checkbox Label and Settings .......................................................................................................... 10
Add/edit options: Adding................................................................................................................ 11
Add/edit options: Editing ................................................................................................................ 11
Example: Scholarship Application Pick List (Checkboxes) .............................................................. 12
Pull-down Lists .................................................................................................................................. 13
Pull-down List Label and Settings................................................................................................... 13
Add/edit options: Adding................................................................................................................ 14
Add/edit options: Editing ................................................................................................................ 14
Example: Type of Pet (Pull-down list)............................................................................................. 15
Hierarchical Pull-down Lists........................................................................................................... 15
Multiple-choice Lists.......................................................................................................................... 16
Multiple-choice list Label and Settings............................................................................................ 17
Add/edit options: Adding................................................................................................................ 18
Add/edit options: Editing ................................................................................................................ 18
Common Fields .................................................................................................................................. 18
Common Field Label and Settings................................................................................................... 19
Common Field Types...................................................................................................................... 19
Blocks of Text .................................................................................................................................... 19
Block of Text Title and Settings ...................................................................................................... 20
Example: Instructions for a multiple-choice list ............................................................................... 20
Lines and Images (formerly called “Page Separators”) ........................................................................ 20
Title (formerly “Label”) and Alignment .......................................................................................... 20
Separator Type: Line....................................................................................................................... 20
Separator Type: Image Separator..................................................................................................... 21
Page Breaks........................................................................................................................................ 21
Title................................................................................................................................................ 21
Sorting Page Breaks........................................................................................................................ 21
Calculated Fields ................................................................................................................................ 21
Choosing the Best Option List ................................................................................................................ 22
Radio Buttons: “Yes” and “Yes”......................................................................................................... 22
Checkboxes: “No” and “Yes” ............................................................................................................. 22
Pull-down Lists: “Yes” and “No”........................................................................................................ 22
Table of Contents
Multiple-choice Lists: “No” and “No”................................................................................................. 22
Re-order Form Elements......................................................................................................................... 23
Form Properties...................................................................................................................................... 24
Label Placement ................................................................................................................................. 24
Displaying section introduction on all pages of multi-page forms ........................................................ 24
Showing an “Update Totals” Button.................................................................................................... 24
Email address notifications ................................................................................................................. 24
Changing the text on your buttons....................................................................................................... 24
Thanks You’s and Confirmations............................................................................................................ 25
Online Thank You .............................................................................................................................. 25
Email Thank You ............................................................................................................................... 25
Validation Email ................................................................................................................................ 25
Message Construction......................................................................................................................... 26
Managing your Data............................................................................................................................... 27
Reviewing Data Online....................................................................................................................... 27
Exporting Data ................................................................................................................................... 27
Filter Your Records ............................................................................................................................ 27
Calculated Fields Part 1.......................................................................................................................... 30
Label .............................................................................................................................................. 31
First Calculation Values.................................................................................................................. 31
Operator ......................................................................................................................................... 31
Second Calculation Value ............................................................................................................... 31
Value collected will be displayed as ................................................................................................ 31
The value will be displayed once calculated .................................................................................... 31
Calculated Fields Part 2.......................................................................................................................... 32
Using Option Lists in Calculations...................................................................................................... 32
Chaining Calculated Fields ................................................................................................................. 33
Appendix A: SSL SuperForms................................................................................................................ 34
Overview............................................................................................................................................ 34
Setting a SuperForm to “SSL” ............................................................................................................ 34
Visitor’s Experience ........................................................................................................................... 34
Accessing SSL-Gathered Responses ................................................................................................... 35
Appendix: SSL SuperForms .....................................................................................................Appendix A
Table of Contents
Overview
Avenet SuperForms is an add-on module which greatly extends the flexibility and power of our
“Online Forms” features. Virtually any sort of form, questionnaire, survey or application can be
created using SuperForms and our integrated content management system.
Like all our features, SuperForms will automatically appear on your site, surrounded by your site’s
design elements and navigation links. A SuperForm may be turned “on” or “off” at any time, and
organized into any section or subsection of your existing content.
Plus, Avenet introduces the ability to “clone” a SuperForm section within your own site, allowing
you to create similar forms quickly and easily.
Once created, your SuperForm will automatically collect data from respondents, and can export
your results in a variety of powerful ways.
As with all our tools, Avenet is proud of our commitment to build systems to better serve our
customers. If you have feedback, ideas for new features, or other comments on SuperForms,
please share them with our Customer Service Center.
SuperForms Documentation Page 3 of 35
Creating a SuperForm
In many ways, a SuperForm is quite similar to other “datatypes” in your site. It can contain a
“Section Introduction”, it can be turned “On” or “Off”, and moved to any section or subsection of
your site. SuperForms can also be “promoted” to parent pages of your site, even into a sidebar.
Starting a SuperForm is no different from adding any other kind of section to your site:
1. Login to your administration, and view the “Content Tools” for your site.
2. Click to select the section or subsection that will contain your new SuperForm. If you’d
like your SuperForm to be linked from your primary navigation menu, then click to select
the “Home” section.
3. Click “Add Subsection”. Supply a “Title” for your SuperForm, select “Internal” for your
Section Type, and then just the Data Type, “Super Forms*” (the asterisk indicates that
your have purchased this Premium Datatype from Avenet) and click “Finished”.
Notice that the SuperForm administration screen is nearly identical to other data types. If
you’d like, you can click “Section Introduction” (or the associated “edit” button); like all
Section Introductions, you can enter and format a block of text (it will appear above your
interactive form), apply a “sidebar” to this section, attach links to documents or other sites,
and other standard features. When you’re finished entering a Section Introduction, click
“Finished” to return to the primary “SuperForms” screen.
Notice that there are two additional links for your “Section Tools” (if necessary, click “Show
Advanced Tools” to display your Section Tools). Download Data will be used to review and
export your visitor’s entries (see Page 27 for more details), while Copy Superform can be
used to duplicate your entire SuperForm section within your website.
SuperForms Documentation Page 4 of 35
Copy Superform
Clicking “Copy Superform” will first display a confirmation message: “Are you sure you want to
create a copy of this SuperForm?”. Clicking “Cancel” will cancel the operation.
Clicking “Ok” will create a new, identical section on your website, titled “SuperFormName
(Copy)”. This duplicate will NOT contain any of the data collected by the original form; it will
only contain the actual SuperForm, as well as any Section Introduction content.
NOTE FOR COMMERCE ENGINE USERS:
If “Delete This Section” is not available, this indicates that your form is linked to a “Product List”
somewhere on your site. Before attempting to delete the SuperForm, you must first locate and
delete the corresponding “Item” in the associated Product List.
Editing Your SuperForm
To being creating your SuperForm, or to edit your existing SuperForm, click the “edit” button next
to the text, “Configure your SuperForm”.
Once editing your SuperForm, you’ll notice that the blue “wizard” menu on the left is significantly
different, and longer, than normal. Specifically, you’ll notice that there is not a single, general-
purpose “Add Item” button. Instead, each type of SuperForm “element” has it’s own “Add…” link
(“Add a text field”, “Add radio buttons”, etc.).
Most importantly: pay extra attention to the “Finish” button at the bottom of this screen. Many of
the configuration options for a SuperForm require multiple steps, so you should frequently click
“Finished” to save your progress as often as possible. Clicking “Cancel”, or clicking to another tab
or section of the tool could risk losing hours of SuperForms configuration.
The remainder of this document will focus on specific Form Elements, and how to use them to create
powerful, interactive online forms.
SuperForms Documentation Page 5 of 35
Element Types
Text Fields
Text fields are the most common “building block” for your online form. The can collect any kind
of “free form” entry information: names, addresses, phone numbers, comments, and more. If
you’d like, you can apply “validation types” to force specific kinds of entries (such as “numbers
only”, or properly-formatted email addresses or zip codes).
A Text field on your form has two pieces: A “Label”, and the “Field”.
Labels
A text field label can be up to 255 characters in length (including spaces and punctuation). Labels
appear on your live form, and will be placed above or to left of it’s paired “Field” (see “Form
Properties”, Page 24, for changing this placement). Use a label to ask a simple question, or to
direct visitors how to complete an entry. Some examples:
• Please enter your name (last name, first name):
• What date will be staying overnight in the park:
NOTE: If you’d like to ask a longer question, or provide extended instructions for completing a
field, consider using a “Block of Text” (see Page 19) above or below your label & text field pair.
Fields
The actual entry field is an interactive “box” on your form, allowing visitors to click their mouse
into the box and begin typing.
Text Box Type
There are two kinds text boxes: single line and multiple line. A single line text box should be used
to collect short answers (one or two words, a number, a date, etc.). Use a multiple-line box to
collect longer responses (comments, suggestions, questions, etc).
It should be noted that “Field Types” (see below) can only be applied to single line text boxes; the
system cannot validate or “screen” entries in a multiple line box.
Is This Field Required?
Assigning a text field as “Required” will force visitors to make an entry before submitting their
responses (or, for multiple page forms, before continuing to a next or previous page).
To make a field “Required”, check this box. Doing so will display an additional option, “Error
Message”. This let’s you supply a custom message that visitors will see if they skip your required
field. If you check “Required”, but don’t enter your own “Error Message”, the system will
automatically enter a default message (“An entry for [YourFieldName] is required.”).
Field Type (“Single Line” text boxes only)
By default, your single line text box will collect “Text”. This means that visitors can enter any
combination of numbers, alphabet characters, and punctuation. To limit those entries, you can
apply a more specific “Field Type” to your fields. If visitors attempt to “violate” that type, they
will see an error message directing them fix their entry to match your selected “Field Type”.
Field types include:
Text. No extra validation. Allows numbers, alphabet characters and punctuation.
SuperForms Documentation Page 6 of 35
Email Address (Bulk Email System). Visitors must enter a valid email address. The entry must
contain one “@” and at lease one “.” Additionally, visitors will receive a Validation Email, asking
them to confirm that their email address is correct and that they do, indeed, wish to receive bulk
mail messages from your site.
Date. Forces visitors to enter a valid date. The field will accept “January 23, 2004”, “01/23/2004”
or “01-23-2004”.
Email Address. Visitors must enter a valid email address. The entry must contain one “@” and at
lease one “.”
Hidden. A Hidden field will not appear on your visitor’s form. Hidden fields should be combined
with “Default Values” to force constant field entries into all responses. For instance, if you plan to
export your form responses, and merge them with data from other sources, you might consider
creating a hidden field with the label “Source”, and then assign a Default Value of “website”. That
way, each response collected with this form will contain the “Source” entry of “website”.
Hidden (Numeric). This field type will soon be removed, and is no longer used.
Numeric. A “Numeric” field will force visitors to type only numbers and decimal points.
Attempting to type alphabet characters or other punctuation will produce a polite error, asking
visitors to enter a number. NUMERIC FIELD ARE REQUIRED for using “Calculation Fields”;
refer to that section (page 27) for more information.
Phone. Similar to the “Date” Field Type, the “Phone” type will force visitors to enter a valid
phone number. The field will accept “123-234-1234” or “(234) 234-1234”. It will NOT accept
extensions (x234) or other additional entries, so consider adding a second text box to gather this
information from visitors.
Zip Code. Also similar to “Date” and “Phone”, this field type forces your visitors to supply a
valid postal code. The field accepts both five and nine digit zip codes.
Field Width
The “Field Width” is a visual measurement of how wide your text field will be. It is roughly
(VERY roughly) equivalent to a the number of letters that can be viewed within the field, however
this measurement can vary widely between browsers (Internet Explorer, Netscape, etc.) and
platforms (Windows, Linux, MacOS, etc.). This value does NOT limit the amount of text that
visitors may enter into your field; all single-line text fields can accept 255 characters, regardless of
the Field Width’s setting.
Rows (“Multi Line” text boxes only)
Use this setting to control how tall your multi-line text box appears on your form (measured in
number of lines of text). It’s important to remember that this value does NOT limit the amount of
text that visitors may type; instead, it controls how many lines of text can appear at one time. If
visitors type more text, their browser will add a “scroll bar” to the right of the text box, allowing
the scroll up and down to view their text.
Default Value
If you’d like to suggest an entry to your visitors for a particular field , enter your suggestion as a
“Default Value”. Your text will “pre-populate” the field for visitors; however they will be free to
change, delete, or add to your “Default Value”.
SuperForms Documentation Page 7 of 35
Radio Buttons
Radio buttons look like small “bullet” points, or circles, that can be clicked to select an option
from a list. An individual radio button cannot be “unclicked”; however, picking a different option
from the same list will de-select the previous the option. In other words: visitors can only choose
one at a time; they are “mutually exclusive”. Because of this, radio buttons are always used in
groups of two or more.
In SuperForms, the items in your group of radio buttons are called an “Options”; the group of
Option is called an “Option List”. So, the “Add Radio Buttons” feature will actually add a group
of radio buttons as a single Option List.
Adding radio buttons to your SuperForm is a two step process. First, you will label and configure
settings for the Option List as a whole. Second, you will build the actual list of options within your
group of radio buttons.
Radio Button Label and Settings
After clicking “Add Radio Buttons” on your SuperForm, you will first configure the settings for
your Radio Button Option List.
Label: This text will appear on your form above or next to your list of radio buttons. You may
enter up to 255 characters (including spaces) for your label.
Is this field required?: Checking this box will force visitors to select one of the radio buttons in
your list before submitting their response.
Error Message: If the field is “required”, you may supply a custom error message that visitors
will see if they fail to select a radio button. If you don’t supply a custom error message, the system
will create one for you (“An entry for FieldName is required.”)
Is this field numeric?: Checking this option will allow you to gather numeric data with your radio
buttons. If you plan to use these radio buttons as part of a calculation, you MUST select this
option. Once this box is checked, you will be able to enter numeric equivalents for each item in
your list (see below for details on Editing Items in an Option List).
Export each item in its own column?: This option affects how your data is exported, using Tab
or Comma-delimited text formats (see page 27 for details exporting your data). If this box is
checked, your exported file will contain each item in your radio button option list, with a
corresponding flag to indicate “Yes” (1) or “No” (0) for each item. If this box is NOT checked,
your exported file will only contain the option that was selected. For example:
If your radio button …checking this option will export: …while NOT checking
option list looks like this option will export:
this:
Favorite Vegetable: Favorite Vegetable-Carrot = 0 Favorite Vegetable
Carrots Favorite Vegetable-Artichoke = 0 = Peas
Artichoke Favorite Vegetable-Peas = 1
Peas
Export the numeric values for these options?: This option also affects your exported data;
selecting it will include numeric values within your export. This option is only available if “Is this
field numeric?” is selected..
SuperForms Documentation Page 8 of 35
Add/edit options: Adding
IMPORTANT NOTE: As you add or edit option in your radio button list, be sure to pay close
attention to your use of “Apply”, “Edit”, “Return…” and “Finish” buttons. Remember that your
work is not saved until you click a “Finish” button. So, be sure to “Finish” (or save) your work
often.
Click the link, “Add/edit Radio Button options” to build your option list. Option lists can hold as
many items as necessary, limited only by how long your form’s page should be.
Enter your first option into the field, and click “Add Option” (or press the “Enter” key on your
keyboard). This will create your first radio button. You can then begin typing your second, third
and other options. Notice that you can add new options to either the “top” or “bottom” of you list.
This will help you enter your items in the correct order.
Additionally, you can click “Reorder Option Values” to sort your radio buttons into a different
order.
As you build your list, you’ll notice each option has buttons for “On/Off”, “Edit” and “Delete”
On/Off: Click this button to toggle the item from “On” to “Off” and back again. If “On”, the
option will appear as a radio button on your form. If “Off”, the option will be hidden and will not
appear on your form; the system will retain “Off” items, though, in case you’d like to use them at
a later time.
Edit: See below for details on “Editing” the items in your list.
Delete: Click this button to remove the item from your option list.
Add/edit options: Editing
As you create items in your radio buttons’ option list, you supply a “label” for each one. However,
behind the scenes, each of your items actually has two (and sometimes three!) attributes. To see
these attributes, click the “Edit” button for one of the items in your list.
Label: The first attribute is the “label” that you supplied when you first created the item. The label
is the text that appears to visitors who use your form and choose one of your radio buttons.
Value: The system will automatically suggest using your “label” as your “value”, but you can
change this. Why would you want to? If you plan to export your data to a text file (comma- or tab-
delimited; see page 27), you may want to use shorter or more meaningful text. This allows you to
supply meaningful “labels” for your radio buttons, but only export the requisite “value” for your
own internal use.
Numeric Value: Similar to “Value”, your item may also be associated with a number, allowing it
to be used in calculations. By default, the numeric value for all items will be “0”. However, you
may enter any number you’d like. For more details on using radio buttons in calculation fields,
refer to page 27.
Example: Picnic Site Reservation (Radio Buttons)
Let’s say your form will allow visitors to select a picnic site. Your park has three sizes of picnic
sites: small, medium, and large. Each picnic site size has a cost associated with it.
First, you would “Add radio buttons” to your form, and supply a label like, “Please select a Picnic
Site Reservation”.
SuperForms Documentation Page 9 of 35
Next, you would click the box next to “Is this field numeric”, since we’ll be associating costs with
each selection.
Then, you would click “Add/edit options” to build your three radio buttons. After adding the three
labels, you could “Edit” each option, and make the following entries:
Item Label Value Numeric Value
Small Picnic Area($2.00/hour) small 2.00
Medium Picnic Area ($3.00/hour) medium 3.00
Large Picnic Area ($5.00/hour) large 5.00
Checkboxes
Although many people confuse “checkboxes” with “radio buttons”, they are in fact quite different,
both in appearance and functionality. Visually, a checkbox resembles a small square or box;
clicking the box places an “X” or “checkmark” inside it. Unlike radio buttons, a checkbox can be
“unclicked” at any time. Plus, if you have multiple checkboxes in your Option List, visitors can
check all of them, none of them, or any combination in between. Sometimes, only a single
checkbox will be used (such as “Click here to agree to the terms of this form”). Or, you can create
a list of related checkboxes (such as “Choose all options that apply:”).
In SuperForms, the items in your group of check boxes are called an “Options”; the group of
Option is called an “Option List”. As such, the “Add Checkboxes” feature will actually add a
group of checkboxes as a single Option List.
Adding checkboxes to your SuperForm is a two step process. First, you will label and configure
settings for the Option List as a whole. Second, you will build the actual list of options within your
group of checkboxes.
Checkbox Label and Settings
After clicking “Add checkboxes” on your SuperForm, you will first configure the settings for your
Checkbox Option List.
Label: This text will appear on your form above or next to your list of checkboxes. You may enter
up to 255 characters (including spaces) for your label.
Is this field required?: Checking this box will force visitors to select one of the checkboxes in
your list before submitting their response. If you wish to “require” visitors to check one of you
boxes, consider adding a “None of the Above” or “Not Applicable” selection to your option list.
Error Message: If the field is “required”, you may supply a custom error message that visitors
will see if they fail to choose one of your checkboxes. If you don’t supply a custom error message,
the system will create one for you (“An entry for FieldName is required.”)
Is this field numeric?: Selecting this option will allow you to gather numeric data with your
checkboxes. If you plan to use these checkboxes as part of a calculation, you MUST select this
option. Once this option is selected, you will be able to enter numeric equivalents for each of your
checkboxes (see below for details on Editing Items in an Option List).
SuperForms Documentation Page 10 of 35
Export each item in its own column?: This option affects how your data is exported, using Tab
or Comma-delimited text formats (see page 27 for details exporting your data). If this box is
checked, your exported file will contain each item in your checkbox list, with a corresponding flag
to indicate “Yes” (1) or “No” (0) for each item. If this box is NOT checked, your exported file will
only contain the options that were selected. For example:
If your checkbox …and you select “Export each item in its own …while NOT
option list looks like column”, your data will export like this: selecting this option
this: will export your data
like this::
Favorite Vegetables: Favorite Vegetables-Carrot = 0 Favorite
Carrots Favorite Vegetables-Artichoke = 1 Vegetables =
Artichoke Favorite Vegetables-Peas = 1 Artichokes, Peas
Peas
Export the numeric values for these options?: This option also affects your exported data;
selecting it will include numeric values within your exported data. This option is only available if
“Is this field numeric?” is selected.
Add/edit options: Adding
IMPORTANT NOTE: As you add or edit option in your checkbox list, be sure to pay close
attention to your use of “Apply”, “Edit”, “Return…” and “Finish” buttons. Remember that your
work is not saved until you click a “Finish” button. So, be sure to “Finish” (or save) your work
often.
Click the link, “Add/edit checkbox options” to build your option list. Option lists can hold as
many items as necessary, limited only by how long your form’s page should be.
Enter your first option into the field, and click “Add Option” (or press the “Enter” key on your
keyboard). This will create your first radio button. You can then begin typing your second, third
and other options. Notice that you can add new options to either the “top” or “bottom” of you list.
This will help you enter your items in the correct order.
Additionally, you can click “Reorder Option Values” to sort your checkboxes into a different
order.
As you build your list, you’ll notice each option has buttons for “On/Off”, “Edit” and “Delete”
On/Off: Click this button to toggle the item from “On” to “Off” and back again. If “On”, the
option will appear as a checkbox on your form. If “Off”, the option will be hidden from your form
and will not appear; the system will retain “Off” items, though, in case you’d like to use them at a
later time.
Edit: See below for details on “Editing” the items in your list.
Delete: Click this button to remove the item from your option list.
Add/edit options: Editing
As you create items in your checkbox option list, you supply a “label” for each one. However,
behind the scenes, each of your items actually has two (and sometimes three!) attributes. To see
these attributes, click the “Edit” button for one of the items in your list.
Label: The first attribute is the “label” that you supplied when you first created the item. The label
is the text that appears to visitors who use your form and choose one of your radio buttons.
SuperForms Documentation Page 11 of 35
Value: The system will automatically suggest using your “label” as your “value”, but you can
change this. Why would you want to? If you plan to export your data to a text file (comma- or tab-
delimited; see page 27), you may want to use shorter or more meaningful text. This allows you to
supply meaningful “labels” next to your checkboxes for visitors to see, but only export the
requisite “value” for your own internal use.
Numeric Value: Similar to “Value”, your item may also be associated with a number, allowing it
to be used in calculations. By default, the numeric value for all items will be “0”. However, you
may enter any number you’d like.
Example: Scholarship Application Pick List (Checkboxes)
Let’s say your form will allow visitors to choose from a list of scholarships to which they are
applying. They may choose one, some, or all of the scholarships in your list, however each
scholarship has an associated “application fee”. Additionally, each scholarship has a unique serial
number; visitors don’t need to see this serial number, but your internal database will use this
number for internal tracking. So, when you export your online applications, you’ll need the serial
number instead of the “visitor-friendly” label. Checkboxes would be an excellent choice to offer
this functionality.
First, you would “Add checkboxes” to your form, and supply a label like, “Please select any
scholarship below:”
Next, you would click the box next to “Is this field numeric”, since we’ll be associating costs with
each selection.
Then, you would click “Add/edit options” to build your checkboxes. The full name of each
scholarship will be entered as the “Label”.
After adding the labels, you would “Edit” each option and make the following entries, using each
scholarship’s serial number as the “Value”, and the associated cost as the “numeric value”.
Item Label Value Numeric Value
Erik E Anderson Foundation S435EEA 5.00
Award
2004 Kiwanis Scholarship S887KIS 7.50
D.A.R. Scholarship S982DAR 5.00
SuperForms Documentation Page 12 of 35
Pull-down Lists
Pull-down lists are common items to find on web sites and computer software. Also called
“combo-boxes” or “drop down menu”, a pull-down list can display a long list of selectable options
in a small amount of space on your form. Before clicking it, your pull-down list will only show
one item, with a small arrow/triangle to its right. Clicking the triangle will show the complete list
of options, allowing a visitor to choose one. Once chosen, the pull-down list collapses again, and
displays the chosen item.
In addition, our SuperForms system allows you to “nest” pull-down lists within each other,
creating a linked collection of hierarchically-organized menus to drive people to a more specific
option. This powerful ability makes pull-down lists the best choice if your form must offer an
extremely long list of items, from which visitors can only choose one.
Similar to Radio Buttons, Checkboxes and Multiple-choice lists, your Pull-down list will contain
“Options”, while the group of options is called your “Option List”.
Pull-down List Label and Settings
After clicking “Add a pull-down list” on your SuperForm, you will first configure the settings for
your Pull-down list Option List.
Label: This text will appear on your form above or next to your pull-down list. You may enter up
to 255 characters (including spaces) for your label.
Is this field required?: Selecting this feature will force visitors to choose one of the options in
your pull-down list before submitting their response. If you wish to “require” visitors to choose an
option, consider adding a “None of the Above” or “Not Applicable” selection to your pull-down
list.
Error Message: If the field is “required”, you may supply a custom error message that visitors
will see if they fail to choose an option from your pull-down list. If you don’t supply a custom
error message, the system will create one for you (“An entry for FieldName is required.”)
Is this field numeric?: Selecting this option allows you to gather numeric data with your pull-
down list. If you plan to use this pull-down list as part of a calculation, you MUST select this
option. Once this option is selected, you will be able to enter numeric equivalents for each of the
options in your pull-down list (see below for details on Editing Items in an Option List).
Export each item in its own column?: This option affects how your data is exported, using Tab
or Comma-delimited text formats (see page 27 for details exporting your data). If this feature is
selected, your exported file will contain each item in your pull-down list, with a corresponding
flag to indicate “Yes” (1) or “No” (0) for each item. If this feature is NOT selected, your exported
file will only contain the option that was selected. For example:
If your pull down …and you select “Export each item in its …while NOT selecting this
list looks like this: own column”, your data would export option would export your data
like this: like this::
Favorite Vegetable: Favorite Vegetable-Carrot = 0 Favorite Vegetable =
Favorite Vegetable-Artichoke = Artichokes
1
Favorite Vegetable-Peas = 0
SuperForms Documentation Page 13 of 35
Export the numeric values for these options?: This option also affects your exported data;
selecting it will include numeric values within your exported text file. This option is only available
if “Is this field numeric?” is selected.
Add/edit options: Adding
IMPORTANT NOTE: As you add or edit options in your pull-down list, be sure to pay close
attention to your use of “Apply”, “Edit”, “Return…” and “Finish” buttons. Remember that your
work is not saved until you click a “Finish” button. So, be sure to “Finish” (or save) your work
often.
Click the link, “Add/edit pull-down list options” to build your option list. Option lists can hold as
many items as necessary, limited only by how long you believe your pull-down list should be.
Enter your first option into the field, and click “Add Option” (or press the “Enter” key on your
keyboard). This will create the first item in your pull-down list. You can then begin typing your
second, third and other options. Notice that you can add new options to either the “top” or
“bottom” of you list; this will help you enter your items in the correct order.
Additionally, you can click “Reorder Option Values” to sort your pull-down list’s options into a
different order.
As you build your list, you’ll notice each option has buttons for “On/Off”, “Edit” and “Delete”:
On/Off: Click this button to toggle the item from “On” to “Off” and back again. If “On”, the
option will appear as an item within your pull-down list. If “Off”, the option will be hidden from
your list and will not appear; the system will retain “Off” items, though, in case you’d like to use
them at a later time.
Edit: See below for details on “Editing” the items in your list.
Delete: Click this button to remove the item from your pull-down list.
Add/edit options: Editing
As you create items in your pull-down list, you supply a “label” for each item. However, behind
the scenes, each of your items actually has two (and sometimes three!) attributes. To see these
attributes, click the “Edit” button for one of the items in your list.
Label: The first attribute is the “label” that you supplied when you first created the item. The label
is the text that appears to visitors who use your form and choose one of the items in you pull-down
list.
Value: The system will automatically suggest using your “label” as your “value”, but you can
change this. Why would you want to? If you plan to export your data to a text file (comma- or tab-
delimited; see page 27), you may want to use shorter or more meaningful text. This allows you to
supply meaningful “labels” next to your checkboxes for visitors to see, but only export the
requisite “value” for your own internal use.
Numeric Value: Similar to “Value”, your item may also be associated with a number, allowing it
to be used in calculations. By default, the numeric value for all items will be “0”. However, you
may enter any number you’d like.
Add/edit children options: Use “children” options to create a sub-menu of items beneath this
pull-down list. Refer to the section below on “Hierarchical Pull-down Lists” (page 15)
SuperForms Documentation Page 14 of 35
Example: Type of Pet (Pull-down list)
Let’s say your form will allow visitors to select their type of pet to license. Each type of pet
requires a specific license fee.
First, you would “Add a pull-down list” to your form, and supply a label like, “Please select your
pet”
Next, you would click the box next to “Is this field numeric”, since we’ll be associating costs with
each selection.
Then, you would click “Add/edit options” to build your pull down list options. After adding the
three labels, you could “Edit” each option, and make the following entries:
Item Label Value Numeric Value
Dog, Large (30lbs and over) LGDog 9.00
Dog, Small (less than 30lbs) SMDog 7.00
Cat (any size) Cat 5.00
Hierarchical Pull-down Lists
If your list of options is extremely long, you may find it easier for your visitors to group items
together using a hierarchy of options. For example, the following list is too long for one menu, and
would be more logical if it were grouped using a hierarchy:
Without Hierarchy: With Hierarchy:
Collie Cats:
Dachsund Manx
Golden retriever Persian
Keeshond Siamese
Labrador retriever Tabby
Manx Unknown/mix cat
Persian Dogs:
Poodle, standard Collie
Poodle, toy Dachsund
Siamese Golden retriever
Tabby Keeshond
Vizla Labrador retriever
Unknown/mix cat Poodle, standard
Unknown/mix dog Poodle, toy
Vizla
Unknown/mix dog
In this example, visitors would initially see a menu showing the first level of your hierarchy:
SuperForms Documentation Page 15 of 35
After selecting an option, a second menu will appear containing the next level of options:
Creating this hierarchy of pull-down lists requires some planning. Before starting to build your
menus, take a few moments to plan out your hierarchy. Decide which items will be in your first, or
top-most menu, and work down from there.
1. When ready, “Add a Pull-down list” to your SuperForm to begin.
2. Describe your pull-down list with the appropriate fields. For this example, we’ll simply
designate a label: “Please select the type and breed of pet you are licensing”.
3. Click “Add/edit options” to add the first level of menu items.
4. Type “Cats”, and press Enter. Then type “Dogs”, and press Enter.
5. Next to your “Cats” entry, click the “edit” button
6. Leave the “Label” and “Value” for this field, but click “Add/edit children options”
7. Notice that you may now build an option list for the “Cats” submenu. Begin typing your
breeds of cats, pressing “Enter” (or clicking “Add Option”) after each item. When finished,
click the link, “Return to admin of parent option”
8. You may now preview your submenu for “Cats”; after doing so, click the Apply button to
“back out” to your first menu.
9. Notice that “Cats” is now marked with “Has Children”, meaning that this selection contains a
sub-list.
10. Repeat steps 5-8 for the “Dogs” item.
11. Click “Return to admin of form element” to “back out” to your original pull down menu
screen, and click “Apply” once more to “back out” to your list of form elements. Finally, you
MUST CLICK FINISH to save your changes.
There is no limit to the number of sub menus you can create. However, keep in mind that the
system will only gather the bottom-most selected item. In this example, the system will only
gather “Siamese”, and not “Cats”. Be sure to label your items appropriately, or supply alternate
values to help you when exporting your data.
Multiple-choice Lists
A multiple-choice list combines the visual benefits of a pull-down list (presenting long lists in a
small area) with multiple-selection ability of a list of checkboxes. Multi-choice lists are typically a
scrollable list of options. Clicking an option will highlight it, and thus select it. In addition, visitors
may hold their “CTRL” key (or Apple/Command key for MacOS) and select additional options
from the list. It should be noted, however, that Multiple-choice list boxes are not as common to
visitors as checkboxes or pull-down lists, and many visitors may not realize that they can selected
SuperForms Documentation Page 16 of 35
more than one item. Consider adding a “Block of Text” (see page 19) immediately after your
multiple-choice list, explaining the use of the CTRL key.
Similar to radio buttons, checkboxes, and pull-down lists, the items in your multiple-choice list are
called “Options”; the group of Options is called an “Option List”.
Adding a multiple-choice list to your SuperForm is a two step process. First, you will label and
configure settings for the list as a whole. Second, you will build the actual list of options within
your multiple-choice list.
Multiple-choice list Label and Settings
After clicking “Add multiple-choice list” on your SuperForm, you will first configure the settings
for your Multiple-choice list.
Label: This text will appear on your form above or next to your multiple-choice list. You may
enter up to 255 characters (including spaces) for your label.
Is this field required?: Selecting this option will force visitors to select an item in your multiple-
choice list before submitting their response. If you wish to “require” visitors to select an item,
consider adding a “None of the above” or “Not applicable” selection to your list.
Error Message: If the field is “required”, you may supply a custom error message that visitors
will see if they fail to choose an item in your multiple-choice list. If you don’t supply a custom
error message, the system will create one for you (“An entry for FieldName is required.”)
Is this field numeric?: Selecting this option will allow you to gather numeric data with your
multiple-choice list. If you plan to use this list as part of a calculation, you MUST select this
option. Once this option is selected, you will be able to enter numeric equivalents for each of the
items in your multiple-choice list (see below for details on Editing Items in an Option List).
Export each item in its own column?: This option affects how your data is exported, using Tab
or Comma-delimited text formats (see page 27 for details exporting your data). If this box is
selected, your exported file will contain each item in your multiple-choice list, with a
corresponding flag to indicate “Yes” (1) or “No” (0) for each item. If this box is NOT checked,
your exported file will only contain the options that were selected. For example:
If your multiple choice …and you select “Export each …while NOT selecting this
list looks like this: item in its own column”, your option will export your data like
data will export like this: this::
Favorite Vegetables: Favorite Vegetables- Favorite Vegetables =
Carrot = 0 Artichokes, Peas
Favorite Vegetables-
Artichoke = 1
Favorite Vegetables-Peas
= 1
Export the numeric values for these options?: This option also affects your exported data;
selecting it will include numeric values within your exported data. This option is only available if
“Is this field numeric?” is selected.
Items to display at once: Multiple-choice lists are unique in that you can control exactly how tall
they should be. Choose a number from this menu to display that many options from your list at
one time. If your list contains more items than you have chosen to display, the system will
SuperForms Documentation Page 17 of 35
automatically add a scroll bar to your multiple-choice list. This allows visitors to review your
entire list while still saving space on your form.
Add/edit options: Adding
IMPORTANT NOTE: As you add or edit options in your multiple-choice list, be sure to pay close
attention to your use of “Apply”, “Edit”, “Return…” and “Finish” buttons. Remember that your
work is not saved until you click a “Finish” button. So, be sure to “Finish” (or save) your work
often.
Click the link, “Add/edit multiple-choice list options” to build your option list. Option lists can
hold as many items as necessary, limited only by how long you believe your multiple-choice list
should be.
Enter your first option into the field, and click “Add Option” (or press the “Enter” key on your
keyboard). This will create your first radio button. You can then begin typing your second, third
and other options. Notice that you can add new options to either the “top” or “bottom” of you list.
This will help you enter your items in the correct order.
Additionally, you can click “Reorder Option Values” to sort your checkboxes into a different
order.
As you build your list, you’ll notice each option has buttons for “On/Off”, “Edit” and “Delete”
On/Off: Click this button to toggle the item from “On” to “Off” and back again. If “On”, the
option will appear as a checkbox on your form. If “Off”, the option will be hidden from your form
and will not appear; the system will retain “Off” items, though, in case you’d like to use them at a
later time.
Edit: See below for details on “Editing” the items in your list.
Delete: Click this button to remove the item from your option list.
Add/edit options: Editing
As you create items in your checkbox option list, you supply a “label” for each one. However,
behind the scenes, each of your items actually has two (and sometimes three!) attributes. To see
these attributes, click the “Edit” button for one of the items in your list.
Label: The first attribute is the “label” that you supplied when you first created the item. The label
is the text that appears to visitors who use your form and choose one of your radio buttons.
Value: The system will automatically suggest using your “label” as your “value”, but you can
change this. Why would you want to? If you plan to export your data to a text file (comma- or tab-
delimited; see page 27), you may want to use shorter or more meaningful text. This allows you to
supply meaningful “labels” next to your checkboxes for visitors to see, but only export the
requisite “value” for your own internal use.
Numeric Value: Similar to “Value”, your item may also be associated with a number, allowing it
to be used in calculations. By default, the numeric value for all items will be “0”. However, you
may enter any number you’d like. This option will only be available if you have selected the
option, “Is this field numeric?”.
Common Fields
Common Fields are time-savers, to help you build your form a little quicker. At Avenet, we’ve
provided three common types of fields that many forms could use:
SuperForms Documentation Page 18 of 35
• A “First Name + Middle Initial + Last Name” field group
• A “City + State + Zip” field group (with all 50 states pre-entered in a pull-down list)
• A stand-alone “State” pull-down list (also pre-entered with all 50 states).
Plus, we’re anxious to get ideas from our customers about other kinds of Common Fields they’d
like to see. Feel free to contact our Customer Support Center with ideas and suggestions.
To add a common field, simply click “Add common fields”.
Common Field Label and Settings
After clicking “Add common fields” on your SuperForm, you will notice that there isn’t much
configuration needed for a Common Field. Simply enter a label for your common field, select the
type of field or field group to add, and choose if visitors should be required to complete the
field(s). At this time, you cannot set a default entry for Common Fields.
When using common fields, consider including an example within your Label. For instance,
instead of simply labeling it “Enter Your Name Here”, consider using, “Enter your name below
(First Name, M.I., Last Name)”. This will prompt users to separate their entries into the three
individual fields.
Label: This text will appear on your form above or next to your multiple-choice list. You may
enter up to 255 characters (including spaces) for your label.
Common Field Type: Choose which common field you’d like to add to your form. See below for
details on each type.
Is this field required?: Selecting this option will force visitors to select an item in your multiple-
choice list before submitting their response. Note that you cannot supply a custom error message
for a Common Field; the error message will be provided by the system, and will read, “An entry
for FieldLabel is required.” However, also note that within a common field, Avenet has applied
some additional logic to avoid issues with requiring entry. For example, if the “Name” common
field is set to “Required”, only the first and last name fields will actually be required; the “Middle
Initial” field will remain optional.
Common Field Types
City, State, Zip: Adds three fields, in one horizontal row. The City field can show about 16
characters at one time, but hold up to 255 characters total. The State menu is pre-entered with all
50 states. The zip code field can show up to 9 characters at one time, but hold up to 255
characters.
Name: Adds three fields, in one horizontal row. The First Name field can show about 22
characters at one time, but holds up to 255. The Middle Initial field shows 2 characters, but holds
up to 255. The Last Name field shows 22 characters, but holds up to 255.
States: Adds a single pull-down list, pre-entered with all 50 states.
Blocks of Text
A SuperForm, like all other Avenet datatypes, can have a “Section Introduction”, which can
appear at the top of your SuperForm. A Section Introduction can hold explanatory text, images,
file attachments, and more. But frequently, your form will need to include extra instructions or
descriptions INSIDE your form, or between your entry fields. Add this extra text using a “Block
of Text”
SuperForms Documentation Page 19 of 35
Blocks of Text are added just like any other element on your form: click “Add a block of text”.
A block of text has two attributes: a “Title”, which does NOT appear on your actual form, and the
actual “Text Block”.
Block of Text Title and Settings
Title: The title of a text block is never seen on your actual form. Instead, use the “Title” field to
describe or summarize your text for your own convenience. The “Title” will only appear within
the administration tool while building, editing, or sorting the elements of your superform.
Text Block: The “text block” uses the same formatting and HTML technology as the rest of
Avenet’s content management tool. Type any amount of text in the large area, and use the
formatting buttons to style your content any way you choose. Or, click “Switch to HTML Mode”
and enter raw HTML tags manually. As mentioned previously, a Block of Text can be especially
useful for providing extra descriptions for your entry fields.
Example: Instructions for a multiple-choice list
After adding a multiple choice list, consider entering the following text:
“To select multiple items, press and hold the CTRL key (Apple/Command key for MacOS) while
clicking your mouse button.”
Then, select your text, click the “F” (Font formatting) button in the toolbar, and set the font size 8
or 10. The end result would look like this:
Lines and Images (formerly called “Page Separators”)
Similar to a “Block of Text”, you can insert horizontal lines and images anywhere on your
SuperForm. Use these visual elements to “break up” your form into different sections, to display a
logo, or to include a diagram for one of your questions.
Lines and Images are added just like any other element on your form: click “Add a Line or Image”
(or “Add a Page Separator”).
Title (formerly “Label”) and Alignment
Title: Similar to a Block of Text, the “Title” (formerly “label”) for a line or separator will not
appear on your actual form. It is only used while building and maintaining your form, helping you
to identify your form elements while adding, editing and sorting. Use the Title to describe your
line or image, for your own convenience.
Alignment: Your line or image may be aligned on the left or right edges of your SuperForm, or
centered in the middle of the form. Keep in mind that your site’s design (left navigation, search
box, etc) and any sidebars you’re using (for extra content, or for your “Printer Friendly Version”
link) may affect this alignment setting.
Separator Type: Line
A “Line” is just that: a thin (2-4 pixel, depending on your site’s design) stripe across your
SuperForm.
SuperForms Documentation Page 20 of 35
Separator Width: The width of your line is designated as a percentage. “100%” will extend your
line across the maximum available width, while “1%” will be little more than a speck. Similar to
alignment: your site’s design (left navigation, search box, etc) and any sidebars you’re using (for
extra content, or for your “Printer Friendly Version” link) may affect the maximum available
width for your line.
Separator Type: Image Separator
Selecting an “Image Separator” will display a link: “Click here to upload an image”. Clicking this
link will lead to our standard “Image Upload” tools. You may upload any image, as long as it is
saved in a JPEG (filename *.JPG), GIF, (filename *.GIF) or PNG (filename *.PNG) format. Once
uploaded, the system will suggest possible sizes that are suitable for your site’s design.
Page Breaks
Any SuperForm you create can be divided into multiple “pages”. Similar to Microsoft Word, the
SuperForms system includes an “Add a page break” feature. These page breaks can be arranged
anywhere on your form, and there is no limit to the number of page breaks you can add.
On an interactive form, a page break must do more than simply divide your content. Your form’s
first page break must show a “Next page” button, to lead visitors to the second page of your form.
All subsequent pages must have a “Previous page”, as well as the “Next page” button, and must
allow visitors to flip back and forth between the pages of your form without loosing any data
they’ve entered. And finally, on the last page of your form, the “Next page” button should be
replaced with a “Finished” button, allowing visitors to submit their responses. Avenet’s
SuperForm will manage all of this, and more, automatically.
Title
Title: Similar to a Block of Text, the “Title” is only used while building and maintaining your
form, helping you to identify your page breaks while adding, editing and sorting form elements.
The Page Break’s title will never be seen by your site’s visitors. Try using descriptive text for your
page breaks, or extra punctuation to help them stand out in the admin tool, such as “>>>END OF
PAGE 1”.
Sorting Page Breaks
Once added to your site, you will most likely need to arrange your Page Breaks within your
SuperForm; use the “Re-order form elements” link to do this.
Calculated Fields
Refer to the sections, “Calculated Fields 1 & 2” for more information on this form element.
SuperForms Documentation Page 21 of 35
Choosing the Best Option List
With four different kinds of option lists (radio buttons, checkboxes, pull-down and multiple-
choice lists), it may seem a little daunting to choose the best one. Many administrators also fall
into a pattern, and “always use checkboxes” for all of their lists. However, each of the option lists
are useful for particular situations.
In fact, by asking yourself two simple questions, you can usually choose the best type:
1. Should items in my list be “mutually exclusive”? Should visitors be prevented from choosing
multiple items?
2. Do I need to show ALL of my items on the screen at once, without requiring any extra clicks
Based on your answers, you can choose the correct type of list:
Radio Buttons: “Yes” and “Yes”
Radio buttons are ideal for forcing visitors to pick ONLY one option. Any attempt to choose a
second option will deselect the first selection. Also: radio buttons will show ALL available options
on screen, right away. This makes them ideal for questions that are multiple choice, yes or no, true
or false, etc. However, radio buttons are NOT good for lists that are longer that five or six
options, since longer lists of radio buttons take up considerable space on your form.
Checkboxes: “No” and “Yes”
Checkboxes are quite different from radio buttons; the options in a list of checkboxes are not
“mutually exclusive”; visitors are free to choose one, some, or all of the items in your list.
Additionally, checkboxes can be checked and unchecked, and thus can function effectively with
only one item in the list (for example, a single item with the label, “check this box to agree to
these terms”). However, checkboxes do share space requirements of radio buttons: all checkboxes
in your list will appear, and thus take up space, on your form, without requiring users to click a
menu or scroll a list.
Pull-down Lists: “Yes” and “No”
Pull down lists are ideal for longer item lists, since your list is initially “hidden” in a menu. These
lists usually take up only one row of space, making them ideal for longer forms or for lists that
contain six or more items. Items in your pull down list are also “mutually exclusive”, like radio
buttons: visitors can only choose one item at a time. Finally, pull-downs have the added ability to
contain a “hierarchy” of options, offering users two, three, or more linked menus to “drill down”
to a specific selection (see page 15 for details on creating hierarchical pull-down lists).
Multiple-choice Lists: “No” and “No”
Multiple-choice lists offer the space-saving benefits of a pull-down list, with the “choose many
items” power of checkboxes. Longer lists can be collapsed into three or four “rows” of space, and
the items in the multiple-choice list are not “mutually exclusive”. However, it should be noted that
many visitors may not be aware that they can use their CTRL key (Apple/Command key for
MacOS) to select multiple items, so consider adding a block of text immediately after your
multiple-choice lists to explain this capability.
Mutually Exclusive?: Yes Mutually Exclusive?: No
Show all items? Yes Radio Buttons Checkboxes
Show all items? No Pull-down lists Multiple-choice lists
SuperForms Documentation Page 22 of 35
Re-order Form Elements
As you build your form, you’ll most likely need to change the order of your form’s elements. To
do so, click “Re-order form elements”.
A list box will appear, containing all elements (field, radio buttons, checkboxes, images, text
blocks, and page breaks). Click to select one of your elements, and then proceed to click the “Up”
or “Down” buttons to move the selected element. You may re-arrange as many elements as you
like.
When finished, you may click “Edit your form”, or any other link in the blue sidebar to continue
make changes to your SuperForm. However, we strongly suggest clicking “Finished” to save your
progress.
SuperForms Documentation Page 23 of 35
Form Properties
Clicking “Form Properties” will offer a variety of controls and settings that will affect your entire
form.
Label Placement
Top: When selected, text labels will be arranged above their corresponding element or entry field.
Side: When selected, text labels will be arranged to the left of their corresponding element or entry
field.
Displaying section introduction on all pages of multi-page forms
This setting applies if you have
• Entered content for this form’s “Section Introduction”
• AND have turned the Section Introduction “On”
• AND have used Page Breaks to separate your form into multiple pages
Selecting “yes” to this setting will force your Section Introduction to appear on all pages of your
form. This can be useful as a recurring “header” at the top of your form’s pages. Setting the option
to “no” will only show the Section Introduction on the FIRST page of the form.
Showing an “Update Totals” Button
If your form contains a Calculated Field, the system can automatically display an “Update Totals”
button. Visitors can use the “Update…” button to preview their numeric entries and selections
before submitting and finishing their form. However, if you’d like to hide this button (and not
allow visitors to preview their calculated totals), you may set this option “Off”. NOTE: If set to
“off”, you should consider setting all of your calculated fields to not “…display their values once
calculated”. Showing these subtotals without allowing visitors to update them is both confusing
and inaccurate.
Email address notifications
As visitors complete your form, the system can automatically email a notification to you. The
notification includes the following content:
• The name of the SuperForm that the user visited
• The site URL that hosts the SuperForm
• Each of the fields on your form, along with the answers/responses the visitor supplied
If you like notifications to be sent to multiple email addresses, simply separate the addresses using
a semicolon (;). For instance:
johnsmith@yahoo.com;janedoe@hotmail.com
Changing the text on your buttons
When using Page Breaks or Calculation Fields, the system will automatically display buttons at
the bottom of each page. However, you may supply the text for these buttons. For instance, you
may change the “Previous” button to simple “<<<”. Avoid using any button text that is specific to
a page; for example, you should not change the “Next Page” button text to “Continue to Page 2”,
since this exact text will be re-used on pages 2, 3 and 4.
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Thanks You’s and Confirmations
Online Thank You
The “Online Thank You” message appears when a visitor completes your form. You should
always enter at least a bare minimum, “Thank You” note; otherwise, visitors will only see a blank
page when finishing their form.
Your Online Thank You message can contain any amount of formatting and HTML you’d like,
using the same formatting tools available in the rest of the Avenet Content Management System.
Email Thank You
If your form asks for visitors’ email addresses, you can also send them a “Thank You” via email.
Attempting to set the “Email Thank You” without having an “email” field on your form will
display the following error:
This form does not currently collect an email address.
If necessary, “Edit your form”, and add a text field. Set the text box type to “single line”, and
select a Field Type of either “Email Address” or “Email Address (Bulk Email System)”.
If your form contains an email address field, you will be able to select “Yes”, to “… send an email
thank you”. Once you select “Yes”, you will be able to make additional settings for you Email
Thank You
What collected email addresses would you like to receive thank you messages? All of the
fields on your form which gather email address will be listed here, with checkboxes next to each
one. You must select at least one of the fields, although you may select as many as you’d like.
Who would you like to send the response from? Before our system can send messages to your
visitors, you must first register at least one of your email addresses with our Customer Service
Center. This email address will be used as the “From” and “Reply to” addresses for your
messages. Contact the CSC to register one, or more, email addresses for this purpose. Once
registered, you may select the appropriate address for this form’s “Email Thank You”
Subject: Enter an appropriate subject for “Thank You” message. Although you may enter a
subject up to 255 characters (include spaces) in length, most people appreciate shorter, meaningful
subjects on their email.
Include Form contents with ‘Thank You’: Checking this option will include all of the visitor’s
responses at the bottom of your Thank You message. This may be helpful for the visitor’s own
records. The Form contents will appear AFTER the “Message Text”
Message Text: Similar to the “Subject”, you may enter any amount of text to appear in the body
of your message. If appropriate, you may want to include your “signature” at the bottom (name,
contact information, etc).
Validation Email
Avenet’s “Bulk Email Tool” can send content to all email addresses that you have collected with
this, and other, forms on your site. However, before visitors can receive bulk emails, they must
first “validate” their addresses.
Validation is performed by sending the visitor an email, using the address they supplied, The validation
email contains a brief explanation of the email’s purpose, along with a hyperlink. The visitor is directed to
click the hyperlink, with then validates their email for use by your site’s bulk email tool.
SuperForms Documentation Page 25 of 35
Normally, the validation content and hyperlink are included with the “Thank You” email. However, if
you’d like, you can have visitors receive two separate emails after completing your form: The first will be
the “Thank You” message, and the second will be the shorter “Validation Email”.
To send a separate validation email, select “yes” to the question, “Would you like to send the validation
email separate from the thank you email?”. Then, select one of your own registered email addresses to use
as the “From” and “Reply to” addresses (or leave the default “DoNotReply” address, if you prefer).
Message Construction
Based on your selections, the Thank You message will be constructed as follows:
Subject line (separate from email body)
Message text
Validation text (if separate validation message is NOT being sent)
Validation hyperlink (see above)
Form contents/responses (if selected)
SuperForms Documentation Page 26 of 35
Managing your Data
Once you have created your SuperForm, and switched it “On”, it can begin collecting responses.
Those responses may be emailed to you individually (see page 24, Email Address Notifications),
however they will also be gathered and retained by the system. To review your responses, use the
“Download Data” link. NOTE: the Download Data link appears on your SuperForms section’s
main page; if necessary, click “Finished” while editing your SuperForm, or click “Content Tools”
(doing so will cancel any changes you’ve made since your last “Finish”…),and select your
SuperForm from the site map. Then, click “Download Data”.
Reviewing Data Online
For most users, the “Download Data” screen display a list of all responses to your superform. The
list will include:
The “Download Data” screen lists your responses in the order they were received, newest to
oldest. Click the numeric identifier to the left of each response to see the full content that was
gathered.
The first three fields of your SuperForm, summarizing the answers received. Next, the system lists
the date when the SuperForm was submitted. Finally, each entry includes a “Delete” link, to
remove the response from the system (there is no “undo” for this operation; be sure you wish to
completely remove the entry from your online records)
If you have more than 20 responses, the responses will be broken into multiple pages. Use the
page numbers in the top left to navigate to other pages of responses.
NOTE: Users with large volumes of data (a large number of responses, an extremely large
SuperForm, or a combination of both) will instead proceed directly to the “Filter” screen. See
below for details.
Exporting Data
To export your collected responses to a text file, click “Download Data”. But first, you should
consider which format is best for your data. Although “Comma Separated Values” (or CSV) is a
common format, it may be problematic if your field names or responses also use commas
(although the system will automatically “trap” commas used in most fields by surrounding the
response in “quotation marks”).
Using a “Tab” delimited format avoids these issues, but may not be supported by the tool you plan
to bring your data to. Oddly, Microsoft Excel and Access have difficulty opening tab-delimited
files, while CSV files open directly by double clicking them (Windows versions only). In either
case, check with the owner or administrator of the system you’re integrating your results with, and
select the most appropriate format.
NOTE: It may also be helpful at this point to review the settings for your option lists (radio
buttons, checkboxes, pull-down and multiple-choice lists). The option, “Export each item” can
have a powerful impact on your exported results, so be sure to review this option as well when
integrating your data with other systems.
Filter Your Records
Instead of reviewing and downloading ALL of your records at once, administrators can “filter”
their site’s responses to analyze subsets of their data. Your responses can be filtered by records
(aka “rows”, returning only some of your responses), by fields (aka “Columns”, returning only
selected questions or fields from your form) , or both.
SuperForms Documentation Page 27 of 35
Most users will access the “Filters” by first clicking “Download Data” (or “Login and Download
Secured Data” for SSL customers), and then clicking “filter your collection”.
NOTE: Users with large volumes of data (a large number of responses, an extremely large
SuperForm, or a combination of both) will proceed directly to the “Filter” screen.
Filter: Step 1 of 2 (or 3)
The first “Filter” steps offers to download all of your records, or to filter them before
downloading. By selecting “Filter…”, the system will offer record-specific filters:
By submission date: Allows you to supply two dates. Any records that were submitted to your
site between these two dates will be included, while records submitted before or after your date
range will be filtered out.
By download status: The system automatically tracks which of your records have been
downloaded before. You can choose to only download “new” records that have never been
downloaded, or to download “old” records that HAVE been downloaded previously.
By visitor responses: Perhaps the most powerful record-specific filter, you can choose to
download records that responded in specific ways to your checkboxes, radio buttons, pull-down
menus or multiple-choice lists. By selecting “Yes”, the system will list all of your form’s option
lists. Checking an answer from your form will include those responses which selected that answer.
Checking multiple answers for this filter will use the “OR” logical operation: the more answers
you select, the more response you will include in your final results.
As you turn various filters “On” and “Off”, be sure to click the “update this count” link at the top
of the window. Doing so will provide an updated number of records that you are about to view
and/or download.
Filter: Step 2 of 2 (or 3)
Click “Next” to proceed to Step 2 of the filtering features. This second collection of filters affects
which fields from your SuperForm will be included in your review or exported text file. By
choosing to “Select the fields you would like to include in your download”, you can select or
deselect the fields from your SuperForm.
Keep in mind that ALL exported files will include three additional fields: the Date the response
was submitted, the IP Address of the workstation submitting the form, and a unique identifier
(labeled “RecordID”) which will never be repeated for any other responses.
Some administrators have created large forms which should be filtered by “field”. Specifically,
Microsoft Excel only supports 255 columns of data; if your SuperForm has too many questions,
Excel will not be able to import your form’s data. As such, you can use this screen to only export
selected fields of your form.
NOTE: This option does NOT affect the question-specific feature, “Export each item”, which will
still export all possible answers of one field into their own columns.
If your SuperForm is too large for a single Excel worksheet, you can export portions of fields in
two or more separate exports. Since each export will include the “RecordID” field, you can use
that field as a unique key to “join” your worksheets (these terms refer to intermediate spreadsheet
and database techniques).
Click “Next” to retun to the “View and Download” screen, with your filters applied.
SuperForms Documentation Page 28 of 35
Filter: Step 3 of 3 (Optional; used for large downloads)
There is, unfortunately, a limit to the amount of data that can be viewed and/or exported at once.
However, that limit is different for each SuperForm created. A form with hundreds of question
may reach this “limit” after a 90-100 responses, while a shorter form will reach it after 200 or 300
records.
This “limit”, though, does not affect your visitors; there is virtually no limit to the size or number
of responses your forms can gather. Instead, this “limit”, when reached, will alter the functionality
of the download features.
When the “Download Data” link is clicked on a form that has exceeded this “limit”, you will
instead be routed directly to the first step of the filter. The steps are identical to the ones described
above. However, after the second step, clicking “Next” will lead to “Step 3”.
Since there is too much data to view or download at one time, the system will automatically divide
your responses into “Groups”. This step will offer two links for each “Group”: one to to “View…”
the group, and another to “Download” it. Clicking “View…” will display the traditional record
view page (as described above in “Reviewing Data Online”), where you can page through the
group’s responses.
Meanwhile, the “Download” link will export that group as a text file. BE SURE TO SELECT
YOUR DESIRED FORMAT before clicking the “download” link for a group; there is a single
selector (Comma or Tab) above the list of groups which applies to all of the “download” links.
SuperForms Documentation Page 29 of 35
Calculated Fields Part 1
Calculated Fields are a powerful new addition to SuperForms. If your form collects numbers, you
can use your visitor’s entries in mathematical formulae to calculate subtotals and totals, perform
unit conversions, or any other type of operation. Plus, Calculated Fields can be chained together to
create complex equations.
SuperForms will automatically provide an “Update” button at the bottom of any page of your form
that contains a calculated field (see page 24 for information on showing or hiding this “Update…”
button)
Adding a Calculated Field requires that you first create one or more “Numeric” text fields, or that
you identify one of your radio button, checkbox, pull-down, or multiple-choice lists as being
“Numeric”.
For single-line text fields, select the “Field Type” of “Numeric”, and “Finish” to save your form.
Then edit your form once again, and add/edit your Calculation Field.
For Option Lists (radio buttons, checkboxes, pull-down and multiple-choice lists), select the
option, “Is this field Numeric”. THEN, edit your individual options/items with your list, and
assign “Numeric Values” for each. If you do NOT supply “Numeric Values” for the options in
your list, the system will default to a value of zero (0). NOTE: For option lists that allow multiple
selections (checkboxes and multiple-choice lists), the system will automatically “Sum” (add) all
selected options before using the value in a Calculation field.
Once you’ve done this, you can use Calculated Fields to create powerful arithmetic operations,
allowing you to figure sub-totals and totals for virtually any process or procedure.
If you have already added at least one “Numeric” text field, then you’re ready to create a
calculation field. While editing the elements of you SuperForm, click “Add a calculated field”.
Calculated fields have five basic groups of options:
1. The label, which appears on your
actual form and within your
administration tool.
2. The First Calculation Value and its
applicable settings and options
3. The “Operator”, representing the kind
of arithmetic operation you’re
performing: Adding, Subtracting,
Multiplying, or Dividing
4. The Second Calculation Value and its
applicable settings and options
5. Display options for your Calculated
Field, like “should the figured
number be shown on the site” and
“should the system add dollar signs
and decimals when the number shows
up?”
SuperForms Documentation Page 30 of 35
Label
The label you supply for your calculated field COULD be seen by your visitors, if you’d like it to
be (based on the selected option, “The value will be displayed once calculated”).
First Calculation Values
The First and Second calculation values can either be “pulled” from a numeric field on your form,
or you can supply a “constant” which will always be used for this calculation.
For a field to appear in this list, you must naturally have first created the field. See above for notes
on how to create an appropriate field or option list.
If “Field” is selected, a pull -down menu appears. This menu contains all numeric fields, numeric
option lists, and other calculation that are ABOVE the current calculation field (based on the
sorted order of your field’s elements).The “label” for each available field is listed.
In addition, if “Field” is selected, you can inform the system on how to handle an empty field. If
the chosen field has no values, the system can use either “0” or “1” for this calculation. In most
cases, choose “0” if you are adding or subtracting, and choose “1” if you are multiplying. NOTE:
the system will not allow you to divide by zero).
If “Constant” is selected, the options are much simpler: enter a number into the field. This number
will then be used each time the calculation is performed.
EXAMPLE: Constants can be especially useful for performing unit conversions. For instance, to
convert a field from centimeters to inches, you could multiple one field’s numeric entry by the
constant “2.54”.
Operator
Choose the desired arithmetic operation from this list: Add, Subtract, Multiply or Divide.
Second Calculation Value
Options for your second value are identical to the first: either select one of your form’s numeric
fields, or enter a constant.
Value collected will be displayed as
SuperForms can display your calculation’s result in one of three ways: “Dollar ($xx.xx)”, “Integer
– no decimals (xx)” or “Decimal – two decimals (xx.xx)”. This setting has two effects.
First, if you choose to display this calculation’s result, the system will apply the select format: it
will automatically add a dollar sign character ($) in front of the result, and display the correct
number of decimal places.
Second, this setting affects how the system will round your numbers. For example, If you would
like the system to ignore any decimal places, select “integer” from this menu. NOTE: This setting
can impact your calculation results, especially if multiple Calculated Fields are “chained” together.
The value will be displayed once calculated
Select “No” to hide this field’s result, and its label, from view. Select “Yes” to show the label and
the calculated result.
SuperForms Documentation Page 31 of 35
Calculated Fields Part 2
Using Option Lists in Calculations
Calculation Fields can use your form’s Option Lists (radio buttons, checkboxes, pull-down or
multiple-choice lists) to gather numeric data. To do so, add numeric values for each of the items in
your option list.
For example, let’s continue the “Pet License” example from the “Pull-down list” illustration. This
time, there is a base cost for all pet licenses of $10. In addition, the type of pet adds an extra cost:
large dogs add $4, small dogs add $2, while cats have no extra charge.
The example begins the same as before: First, you would “Add a pull-down list” to your form, and
supply a label like, “Please select your pet”
Next, you would click the box next to “Is this field numeric”, since we’ll be associating costs with
each selection.
Then, you would click “Add/edit options” to build your pull down list options. After adding the
three labels, you could “Edit” each option, and make the following entries:
Item Label Value Numeric Value
Dog, Large (30lbs and over) LGDog 4
Dog, Small (less than 30lbs) SMDog 2
Cat (any size) Cat 0
When finished, click the “Apply” and “Return…” links, and “Finish” your form, and perhaps even
test your new pull-down menu on your live site.
Next, “Add a calculated field” to your form. Make the following selections:
• Label: perhaps use, “Total Pet License
Cost”
• First Calculation Value: select “Field”,
then choose the label of your pull-down list,
“Please select your pet”; for “If field is
empty…”, select “0” since we will be
adding.
• Operator: select “+ (add)”
• Second Calculation Value: select
“Constant”, and enter “10” for the
constant’s value
• Choose the “Dollar” format for displaying
your collected value, and select “Yes” to
show this total on your actual form.
The result form will allow people to select their type of pet (large dog, small dog, or cat), and
immediately see the impact their selection has by clicking the “Update” button at the bottom
of the form.
SuperForms Documentation Page 32 of 35
Chaining Calculated Fields
Possibly the most powerful feature of Calculated Fields is the ability to “chain” multiple fields
together, creating virtually any sort of equation that your form might require.
Building any sort of equation requires an understanding of the system’s “Order of Operation”.
Traditionally, equations and formulae use a combination of parenthesis and a fixed arithmetic
order (multiply, then divide, then add, then subtract) to control the order of operation. For
example:
2 x 3 + 4 = 10
2 + 3 x 4 = 14 (multiplication occurs before addition)
(2 + 3) x 4 = 20 (parenthesis force the addition to occur first)
etc.
However, SuperForms has no such Order of Operations. Instead, will simply occur in the order
they are arranged on your SuperForm, based on your form’s sort order (see page 23 for details on
re-ordering the elements of your form). For instance, the third equation would be created in
SuperForms using two Calculated Fields, named “CalcField A” and “CalcField B”:
CalcField A = 2 + 3 (results in “5”)
CalcField B = CalcFieldA x 4 (results in 20)
There is no limit to the number of calculation fields you can chain together.
Suggestions:
• Use the “Value will be displayed when calculated” option to show or hide the various
totals and subtotals of your equations. In many cases, you might only show the last
calculation in your chain of fields.
• Pay close attention to the order of the forms as they appear on your SuperForm!
Calculations are always performed “top to bottom”; use this to control exactly how your
equation behaves.
• Be sure to review your “Form Properties”; you have direct control of the text that appears
on the “Update…” button, as well the ability to turn this button off. NOTE: if you hide
the “Update” button, consider hiding all of your calculated fields as well. Calculated
fields do not update automatically; users must click the “update” button. If the button is
hidden, the calculated field will not be updated until the form is completed and submitted.
SuperForms Documentation Page 33 of 35
Appendix A: SSL SuperForms
Overview
If your form gathers sensitive customer data, such as birthdays, social security numbers, medical
history, etc, you should consider enabling “SSL” for your SuperForm.
“SSL” (Secure Sockets Layer) is a web-based encryption standard which provides additional
protection from hackers and internet “spies” who may be monitoring visitors’ online actions and
submissions.
While a user is completing an SSL-enabled form, their web browser will provide a visual
indication that the session is “locked” (usually via a small padlock icon on the Status Bar or Tool
Bar), as well as using the “https://” prefix (instead of the standard “http://”) in the web
address/URL.
In addition, to completely protect your visitor’s data, your administration tool will enter a
“Secured” mode while viewing and downloading your visitor’s results.
SSL SuperForms is an added module, working with the core SuperForms module to offer
encrypted forms on your site. Contact the Avenet Customer Service Center for more information
on purchasing SuperForms, or the additional SSL module.
Setting a SuperForm to “SSL”
Any SuperForm may be made “SSL Encrypted”. To do so:
1. If necessary, login to your site’s administrative tools, and browse the “Content Tools” to
locate your SuperForm
2. Click “Edit” to Configure your SuperForm
3. Click “Form Properties”
4. Click “Yes” for the second option, “This form uses SSL”
5. Click “Finished” at the bottom of the screen to save your changes.
Your form is now SSL Encrypted.
NOTE: If your SSL SuperForm’s “Section Introduction”, “Side Bar” or “Thank You” message
includes hyperlinks to other sections of your site, be sure to use complete web addresses for those
addresses/URL’s; be sure that the addresses include “http://www.mysite.com/...”. Otherwise, your
links will not function correctly when visitors enter their secured sessions.
Visitor’s Experience
When a visitor uses your SSL form, a few things will happen:
• Their browser will indicate the secure session by displaying a “lock” or “secured” icon in
their status bar or tool bar.
• The web address/URL will begin with “https://” instead of “http://”.
• The web address will temporarily change to “ssl.govoffice.com” or
“ssl.nonprofitoffice.com” (or similar server name). The address will remain at this
specialized location for the duration of the secured session, including the “Thank You”
SuperForms Documentation: SSL SuperForms Appendix A
message. All of your site’s navigation links are still accessible and functional, and will
return your visitors to your normal address/URL once they click another hyperlink
• NOTE: Macintosh visitors who are completing a purchase-enabled SuperForm may see
up to three additional security warnings after their “Thank You” message is viewed.
Avenet is aware of this issue, and will address it in a future release. However, regardless
of the security warning’s content, all visitors data is fully protected and secure.
Accessing SSL-Gathered Responses
To access data gathered from your SSL SuperForm, follow the same method as described in
“Managing Your Data” (page 27). However, the link will now read, “Login and Download Your
Data” (instead of simply “Download Your Data”). As such, you will first be asked to login; enter
your username and password to proceed.
Notice that you, too, will enter a Secured session (different web address/URL, lock icon, etc)
while viewing and downloading your visitor’s data.
To return to your administration tool, click the link at the bottom of the page.
SuperForms Documentation: SSL SuperForms Appendix A